Like most teenage bands (ages 17 – 20), Agent blå started out competing at open mic nights. Felix Skorvald (guitars), Lucas Gustavsson (guitars) and Emilie Alatalo (vocals) played Joy Division covers against a group featuring their future bandmates Josefine Tack (bass, vocals) and Arvid Christensen (drums). At a party some weeks after, they bonded by their love of Slowdive and Joy Division, and Agent blå was formed. Releasing their debut 7″ “Strand” in December of 2015 in Sweden, Agent blå burst into the indie community of Scandinavia with their combination of goth rock, dream pop and post-punk, creating their own unique brand of death pop.
Agent blå translates to Agent blue in English, the preferred arsenic of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Agatha Christie, and the Borgias. While that might sound remarkably caustic, the band’s music is filled with dark overtones though not without a shimmering veneer of sweet, tender indie pop. Of their single “Strand,” Stereogum raved Agent blå craft “enormous, spiraling hooks out of a few guitar parts and rage-inflicted vocals that split the difference between heartbreak and total indifference,” while Gold Flake Paint said, “Agent blå exude icy coolness while delivering something vehemently mystical.”
What hits you first about Agent blue is the youthful exuberance. Capturing the hopefulness of a first love and juxtaposing against the mundane chores of school and work shifts, the sound is packed full of emotions of hope, frustration, and everything in between. Lyrically, Emelie did not write any lyrics until she joined Agent blå, though she has been writing poetry since the age of 5. And while wanting the listener to have their own experience with the songs, Emelie says, “The songs on Agent blue are about bad parties and waiting for them to be over and relationships, toxic friendships, and young love.” “(Don’t) Talk to Strangers” is about “meeting someone new, they seem to like you, and you’re like ‘Please don’t like me I’m going to f*ck up your life.'” “Rote Learning” is about meeting someone new and you aren’t sure where you stand with them, and “Dream Boy Dream” is about growing up fast and taking on responsibility that you really shouldn’t have.””
It’s a classic sounding record of heartbreak – falling in and out of love, tender, beautiful with dark overtones that fans of The Smiths can appreciate. [Back…]
